If you have any specific questions, save them till the end, because they may answer them before you even get there. We like to spend at least a good 30 minutes with clients that have a new kitten and make sure that all their questions are answered, and that they have access to information that they're going to need from home also.

We're going to probably ask some questions of you about the kitten’s vaccine history. Then we're going to do a thorough physical from their nose to their tail, and have a good look at the kitten to make sure that everything looks right there. We’ll discuss behavioral issues, preventative care, parasites, and we’ll do a fecal on your kitty and get the vaccines started.

Yes, we recommend core vaccines for your kitten because... I'll just tell you a personal story. My cats are indoor cats. My son left his door open, and a bat flew in, and my cat killed the bat. I think about 15% of bats in California carry rabies—maybe even higher than that. If my cat had not been vaccinated for rabies, we would have a potentially challenging situation on our hands. And cats get out all the time. We want them protected with the FVRCP and leukemia.

At your first visit, what we're going to be looking for is their temperament, demeanor, and their general energy level to determine whether or not we think there may be something that the puppy's come with. And then we're going to be looking in their eyes and their ears and their nose and their mouth and listening to their chest and feeling their intestines and looking at how they walk. These are all things that are part of the physical exam. We also collect information from you about how things are going at home to determine a good physical assessment of your dog.

We recommend having most puppies spayed or neutered right around six months. For some of the larger breeds of dogs, we recommend that we wait until later on because of their bone development, so with the large breed dogs, we'll discuss whether to wait. There are even a few breeds that we find that there may be a reduction in cancers say if we wait a little bit longer, such as with golden retrievers. That being said, some large breed dogs do have some behavioral issues that come up, and we want to stay on top of that. We don't want to see any signs of aggression in an eight-month-old dog. We may want to consider neutering them earlier in those cases. It’s essential that you stay in close contact, and that six-month visit is so crucial for this reason.

It's critical when you get a puppy to come in right away, and then every three weeks until they're four months. We’ll also recommend that they come in for a six-month visit. Between four and six months, many things go on, and we hate to miss that six-month visit because we have behavioral and diet changes, and exercise recommendations. Most importantl is the behavioral aspect of things. We want to make sure that your dog is meeting the right guidelines. We're going to make certain behavior is correct, or we're going to help you to find the best way to redirect that behavior.

I think it's important for you not to have to ask questions for your veterinarian, as it’s on us to provide you with a lot of information. Then, we’re going to ask specific questions about how your puppy is doing. It’s our responsibility to make sure that you're well-educated and have all the information that you need.

At the first visit, we're going to ask you many questions. We're going to check on what the vaccine schedule has been so far. Well have you bring a fecal sample, and we're going to do a thorough physical and spend a lot of time talking to you about important things like preventative care, when the next visit is due, and what sort of training you should get started at that time.

Definitely not. I have had many cats that we've cured of cancer and have gone on to live a quality life. Quality of life is hugely important in pets. We're not trying to extend the life of a cat that's going to be suffering. Quality of life's vital to this discussion. That, and, if we can get a good quality of life and extend it, that's just great if we can do both those things.